ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team will be back in action on Friday, September 15 as they kick off the two-day Viking Classic inside the Carver Center.

Augie currently sits at 7-0, one of just 22 remaining unbeaten teams at the Division III level. The Vikings are coming off of a sweep of Wheaton on Wednesday to begin the CCIW slate, taking down the Thunder by set scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-10. Leading 19-18 in set one, the Vikings tallied six of the final seven points scored in the frame, including back-to-back service aces from Syd Krueger to help close out the win. The team then broke away from an early 7-7 tie in the second, using an 8-1 scoring outburst to create separation. Wheaton made a late comeback and shrunk the cushion for Augie down to just two points at 22-20, but the Vikings fended off the rally thanks to two errors form the Thunder and set-sealing kill from Leah Rizzo.

In set three, it was all Augie. Wheaton bounced back from an early deficit to cut the advantage to 10-8 in favor of Augustana, but 15 of the next 17 points went the Vikings' way as they rolled to a 25-10 set three victory to claim their first win of the young conference schedule.

The Vikings hit .275 on the night, led by 12 kills from Emily Schipper and nine apiece from Krueger and Rizzo. Amelie Baehr-Ross averaged over 10 assists per game with 31, while four Vikings notched double-digit digs. Grace Vranicar was the leader in that category with 18, followed by 14 from Baehr-Ross.

The first match of the weekend will be the Adrian Bulldogs at 4 p.m. on Friday. Adrian enters the weekend with a 2-5 overall record and are riding a two-match losing streak after dropping contests to Rose-Hulman and DePauw over the weekend at the MIAA/NCAC Crossover tournament in Indiana. All seven matches for the Bulldogs have been neutral-site contests. The team finished the 2022 season with a 13-10 overall record. Friday will mark just the second meeting between the Vikings and Bulldogs, with Adrian winning the lone encounter prior.

At 8 p.m. on Friday, the Vikings will face the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers. Rose-Hulman is currently enjoying a four-match winning streak and enters the Viking Classic with a 4-3 record. The Fightin' Engineers dropped their first three contests of the season, including a five-set loss to fellow CCIW program Wheaton, but has since then claimed their last four, including two sweeps. The Fightin' Engineers finished with a 14-12 overall record in 2022 and saw their season coming to an end in their conference tournament semifinals. Augustana won the lone meeting between the two programs back in 2016, a 3-0 victory for the Vikings. 

On Saturday, Augustana will begin the day with the UW-Platteville Pioneers at 11 a.m. Like the Vikings, the Pioneers are also winners of seven straight contests, coming in with a 7-1 record. Platteville dropped their first match of the 2023 season to Hardin-Simmons in five sets, but has rattled off seven wins since then, three of which have been sweeps. Saturday will serve as the 37th meeting between the Vikings and Pioneers, with UW-Platteville leading the series 24-12. The two teams met last season in Platteville, Wis., resulting in a 3-1 home win for the Pioneers. Platteville has won three straight over Augustana. 

The final match of the Viking Classic for Augustana will be against the Clarkson Golden Knights, who join the Vikings as another undefeated team so far this season. Clarkson sports a 5-0 record, recently defeating Oswego State in consecutive sets at home. The Golden Knights are 1-0 on the road this year, knocking off DeSales in their season opener by a score of 3-1. Saturday will serve as the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Live coverage of the weekend can be found here.